DOLPHIN RESEARCH CENTERThirty years of Teaching, Learning, Caring for marine mammals and the environment we share.DRC is a nonprofit marine mammal education and research facility located in the heart of the fabulous Florida Keys. Home to a family of Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and California sea lions, DRC offers a variety of educational, fun, exciting programs, and close-up interactions. We hope you enjoy our blog!

Thursday, April 11, 2013

How many of you out there have swimming with dolphins on your
bucket list? It’s an activity that many people dream about throughout their
entire lives and Dolphin Research Center is fortunate to be able to make those dreams
come true! Guests can do a multitude of interactive programs from both on the
dock and in the water to spend time with the DRC pod.

The most popular program is the Dolphin Encounter, where guests get wet with a dolphin. This
program includes a kiss, handshake, imitations, signals, and a dorsal pull. The
dolphins do these sessions every day, so it becomes second nature. However, DRC
has several younger dolphins who are still learning how to master the pulls.

DRC doesn’t have any “behind the scenes” areas where
training takes place, so guests not only see how we teach the dolphins, but
they also often get to be part of the training process.

One of the first things dolphins learn is to follow a target
pole, which looks like a giant cotton swab. The dolphins learn to put their
rostrum, or other parts of the body on the pole.

During a recent Dolphin
Encounter, Luna and Flagler (Ages three and two respectively) worked on
their dorsal pulls. An important part of the behavior is the pattern. The kids
are learning a nice figure eight in a smaller lagoon. Working on this required
four people.

The first was their trainer, who sent them on the dorsal
pull. The second was the guest who held on as the youngsters took him for a
ride. Two other trainers stood on the boardwalks with target poles to guide
Luna and Flagler.

The trainers stood on each side and slapped the poles
against the water to indicate which direction Luna and Flagler were meant to
go. The kids traveled from one pole directly across the pool to the other pole,
then around to drop their swimmer off at the dock. With each guest, Luna and
Flagler got better at their pattern. They began to understand where they were
supposed to go and do it without the added hint of the target poles.

The youngsters are still perfecting this behavior but
they’ve almost got it down. Every day, the trainers work with them so that they
can get better and better. Luna and Flagler love to know that they’re doing
exactly what they’re asked and we love seeing their growth with each program.